Music and dance
Apr. 12th, 2009 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseOf late, the Viking's been eschewing karaoke and pool in favor of having various local bands play downstairs and up on Saturday evenings. This tends to throw a kink in Monica's and my usual ritual, since the pool tables are all shoved off to one side to make room, and the karaoke area is filled with some band or other doing their cover of "Comfortably Numb". I like live music and all, but I miss singing, and without the relative quietude of the pool area upstairs to chat the whole "bar experience" becomes a bit of a drag after a while - nowhere to hide when the loud music gets to be too much.
The dance floor, however, is still more or less unchanged. So last night, when Monica and I brought along Philip and Justin for the evening, we planned to stick mostly with the dancing, and that was rather a success. And midway through the night, we retreated to the lone all-night diner in town for some truly mediocre food and a refuge from the noise, before going back to dance a while longer. I stayed out later than I have probably since high school, and thanks to the Red Bull and diner coffee I consumed, I was up until about 4 AM. So most of today's been spent recuperating. Fortunately, it's been a quiet kind of day.
Interestingly, I discovered today that my dancing had not gone unnoticed. I stopped at a coffee stand earlier to order a London Fog and was recognized by the girl at the stand, who said that she and her friends had been debating whether I'd done ballet or stripping or some such. It threw me for a bit of a loop; I know people watch me dance (appreciatively, I hope) but I tend to be off in my own world most of the time so I don't really think about it.
One of the things I've noticed quite a bit since I started practicing yoga regularly is how much it helps with dancing - I never would have guessed, but the Warrior series of poses strengthen all the same thigh muscles that you use, and of course the focus on balance can only help. Justin expressed his surprise at the range of motion I was able to exert in three-inch heels, which made all that time spent practicing Tree pose more than worthwhile.
Although, an amusing story from a couple of months ago that I never got around to putting down here: During one of our outings, Monica and I had been playing pool and I'd been drinking a glass of Alaskan Amber (hooray for excellent local beer). We went down to the dance floor, and while I didn't feel tipsy, I'm sure my balance was affected somewhat - and the fact that I was wearing the aforementioned three-inch heels, and that the floor was freshly painted, all factored in as well. Whatever the cause, I stepped on my heel wrong and found myself hurtling towards the floor. Oddly enough, I distinctly remember realizing I was falling and vaguely thinking "Hm, this is going to hurt" on the way down - 5'8" plus 3" is a long way to fall. But when I hit the (fortunately uncrowded) floor, I lay there a moment taking stock, and realized nothing hurt, and I had no bruises the next day. I guess the relaxing effects of the alcohol had kept me from panicking and cushioned the blow. So I got up and kept dancing (albeit slightly more carefully this time).
Next Saturday, I'm planning an In Bruges night before dancing. Brian will be making fish and chips, and then we can all watch some incredibly dark British comedy. I think it'll be fun.
The dance floor, however, is still more or less unchanged. So last night, when Monica and I brought along Philip and Justin for the evening, we planned to stick mostly with the dancing, and that was rather a success. And midway through the night, we retreated to the lone all-night diner in town for some truly mediocre food and a refuge from the noise, before going back to dance a while longer. I stayed out later than I have probably since high school, and thanks to the Red Bull and diner coffee I consumed, I was up until about 4 AM. So most of today's been spent recuperating. Fortunately, it's been a quiet kind of day.
Interestingly, I discovered today that my dancing had not gone unnoticed. I stopped at a coffee stand earlier to order a London Fog and was recognized by the girl at the stand, who said that she and her friends had been debating whether I'd done ballet or stripping or some such. It threw me for a bit of a loop; I know people watch me dance (appreciatively, I hope) but I tend to be off in my own world most of the time so I don't really think about it.
One of the things I've noticed quite a bit since I started practicing yoga regularly is how much it helps with dancing - I never would have guessed, but the Warrior series of poses strengthen all the same thigh muscles that you use, and of course the focus on balance can only help. Justin expressed his surprise at the range of motion I was able to exert in three-inch heels, which made all that time spent practicing Tree pose more than worthwhile.
Although, an amusing story from a couple of months ago that I never got around to putting down here: During one of our outings, Monica and I had been playing pool and I'd been drinking a glass of Alaskan Amber (hooray for excellent local beer). We went down to the dance floor, and while I didn't feel tipsy, I'm sure my balance was affected somewhat - and the fact that I was wearing the aforementioned three-inch heels, and that the floor was freshly painted, all factored in as well. Whatever the cause, I stepped on my heel wrong and found myself hurtling towards the floor. Oddly enough, I distinctly remember realizing I was falling and vaguely thinking "Hm, this is going to hurt" on the way down - 5'8" plus 3" is a long way to fall. But when I hit the (fortunately uncrowded) floor, I lay there a moment taking stock, and realized nothing hurt, and I had no bruises the next day. I guess the relaxing effects of the alcohol had kept me from panicking and cushioned the blow. So I got up and kept dancing (albeit slightly more carefully this time).
Next Saturday, I'm planning an In Bruges night before dancing. Brian will be making fish and chips, and then we can all watch some incredibly dark British comedy. I think it'll be fun.
